Thursday, January 14, 2010

Bullets from the Holy Land (news bullets that is)

You may have noticed I'm big on a couple of local news sources in the region, Haaretz (Israeli) and Maan (Palestinian), for their timely news briefs, educated opinion pieces, and the adorable way they continue to lift entire paragraphs verbatim from their counterpart's news articles. The conflict runs deep, ladies and gentlemen, and when the other side is firing rockets/dropping bombs/stealing your land/maiming your children what's a little plagiarism between bitter enemies? This conflict within a conflict might soon see a little bit of escalation, following the Israeli government's decision to get involved. Jared Malsin, US citizen, Yale grad, Birthright alum and English language editor of the Palestinian Maan news network has been detained without charges by the IDF following his return to Israel from vacationing in Europe. Not only did the Israeli authorities grab him, but also his (apparently highly dangerous security threat of a) girlfriend who is a registered volunteer with the Lutheran Church in Jerusalem. I certainly wish him the best, as the network he works for is top notch for reading the news I need.

In other Israeli detention policy news, Palestinian non-violent movement leaders Mohammed Othman and Jamal Juma' were released only a day apart this week. Both men work at the Stop the Wall campaign, a Palestinian NGO that publishes reports and organizes protests against Israel's winding separation wall in the West Bank. Both activists were arrested and imprisoned in Israel for months without charges being filed against them. Abdullah Abu Rahme, a third non-violent movement leader is still imprisoned by the Israeli authorities, facing incitement and arms possession (for displaying spent tear gas canisters fired at his village by the IDF) charges.